The Ladies Book of Useful Information by Anonymous (interesting novels in english TXT) 📖

and carry it to the cellar; forty days afterwards put a crape over a pan and empty the whole to strain the essence from the flowers by pressure. Bottle this essence, and expose it for four or five weeks in the sun and dew of the evening to purify. One single drop of this essence is enough to scent a whole quart of water. TO TAKE LEAF PHOTOGRAPHS.

A very pretty amusement, especially for those who have just completed the study of botany, is the taking of leaf photographs. One very simple process is this: At any druggist's get an ounce of bichromate of potassium. Put this into a pint bottle of water. When the solution becomes saturated—that is, the water has dissolved as much as it will—pour off some of the clear liquid into a shallow dish; on this float a piece of ordinary writing paper till it is thoroughly moistened, and let it dry in the dark. It should be of a bright yellow color. On this put the leaf, under it a piece of black soft cloth and several sheets of newspaper. Put these between two pieces of glass (all the pieces should be of the same size) and with spring clothespins fasten them together. Expose to a bright sun, placing the leaf so that the rays will fall upon it as nearly perpendicular as possible. In a few moments it will begin to turn brown; but it requires from half an hour to several hours to produce a perfect print. When it has become dark enough, take it from the frame and put it into clear water, which must be changed every few minutes until the yellow part becomes white. Sometimes the veinings will be quite distinct. By following these directions it is scarcely possible to fail, and a little practice will make perfect.

TO MAKE LAMP WICKS INDESTRUCTIBLE.

Steep common wicks in a concentrated aqueous solution of tungstate of soda, and then dry thoroughly in an oven.

TO MAKE DIFFERENT KINDS OF PERFUMES. BALM OF A THOUSAND FLOWERS.

Deodorized alcohol, one pint; nice white bar soap, four ounces. Shave the soap when put in; stand in a warm place till dissolved; then add oil of citronella, one dram, and oils of neroli and rosemary, of each one-half dram.

FRANGAPANNI.

Spirits, one gallon; oil of bergamot, one ounce; oil of lemon, one ounce: Macerate for four days, frequently shaking; then add water, one gallon; orange flower water, one pint; essence of vanilla, two ounces. Mix.

JOCKEY CLUB.

Spirits of wine, five gallons; orange flower water, one gallon; balsam of Peru, four ounces; essence of bergamot, eight ounces; essence of musk, eight ounces; essence of cloves, four ounces; essence of neroli, two ounces. Mix.

LADY'S OWN.

Spirits of wine, one gallon; otto of roses, twenty drops; essence of thyme, one-half ounce; essence of neroli, one-quarter ounce; essence of vanilla, one-half ounce; essence of bergamot, one-quarter ounce; orange flower water, six ounces. Mix.

UPPER TEN.

Spirits of wine, four quarts; essence of cedrate, two drams; essence violets, one-quarter ounce; essence of neroli, one-half ounce; otto of roses, twenty drops; orange flower essence, one ounce; oil of rosemary, thirty drops; oils of bergamot and neroli, each one-half ounce. Mix.

If you wish to make a small quantity of any of the above perfumes, use small quantities of the ingredients, preserving the same proportions.

TO WRITE SECRET LETTERS.

Put five cents' worth of citrate of potassa in an ounce vial of clear cold water. This forms an invisible fluid. Let it dissolve, and you can use on paper of any color. Use goose quill in writing. When you wish the writing to become visible, hold it to a red-hot stove.

TO PRESERVE FLOWERS SO THAT THEIR BEAUTY WILL LAST FOR YEARS.

Make a strong solution of gum arabic, two ounces of the gum to one pint of boiling water; shake until dissolved; then take your flowers and immerse in the solution, taking care that every part is well wet with the solution. When dry, repeat the operation. Do this three times. Flowers treated thus will last for years.

CHAPTER XIII. HOME DECORATION.

The chief features to be observed in house furnishing are color, form, and proportion. All stiffness of design in furniture should be avoided. Do not attempt to match articles, but rather carry out the same idea as to color and form in the whole. It is not en règle to have decorations in sets or pairs; the arrangements should all be done with odd pieces. Every room in the house should be arranged for occupancy, having nothing too good for use, and the judicious housewife will follow a medium course and adopt no extreme of fashion.

The style and arrangement of the furniture should correspond with the size of the room, with a due regard to the place a piece of furniture or ornament will occupy. The order of arrangement in furnishing is subject to individual taste, but the following suggestions may not be inappropriate:—

In decorating a dining-room, deep, rich tones should be used; a drawingroom or parlor should have bright, cheerful shades; in a library use deep, rich colors, which give a sense of worth; a sleeping-room should have light, pleasing tints, which give a feeling of repose.

THE HALL.

The hall being the index to the whole house, due care should therefore be given to its furnishing. Light colors and gilding should be avoided. The wall and ceiling decorations now mostly used are in dark, rich colors, shaded in maroons or deep reds. Plain tinted walls and ceilings in fresco or wainscot are also frequently used. The latest shades of wall paper come in wood colors, dark olive-greens, stone color, and grays, in tile, arabesque and landscape designs, and with these are used a corresponding dado and frieze.

A tile or inlaid floor is the most appropriate, but if circumstances do not admit of one of these, a floor stained a deep wood-brown, base board and moldings to correspond, may be substituted; when India mattings and rugs may be used.

The colors now in vogue for hall carpets are crimson or Pompeiian reds, with small figures of moss-green or peacock-blue. The prevailing shades of the walls and floor should be incorporated in the stair carpet.

If the hall is narrow, none but the most essential pieces of furniture should be used; but if wide enough, there may be a lounge placed against one of the walls, an old-fashioned clock of the cuckoo style set in a quiet corner, two high-backed chairs upholstered in leather, a table, an umbrella-stand placed near the door, a jardinière filled with tropical plants set near the foot of the stairway, and a hall mirror with a deer's head and antlers placed above it and a wooden or marble slab underneath. The slab should be covered with a Roman scarf, allowing a fall of twelve inches at each end. The hatrack must also find a place. Family portraits or a few well-selected pictures are appropriate for these walls.

If the door-lights are not stained glass, lace shades in designs of birds, cupids, and garlands of flowers are used; also, etchings in various colors and designs are worked on different fabrics. Crimson silk shades lined with black netting are very desirable, as the light penetrating through them fills the hall with a rich, subdued glow.

THE PARLOR.

The furnishing of the parlor should be subject to its architectural finish. The first things to be considered are the walls and floor. The former may be decorated in fresco or papered, according to individual taste and means. The prettiest styles of parlor paper are light tints of gray, olive, pearl, and lavender grounds, and in small scroll patterns, panels, birds, and vines, finished in heavy gold traceries, with dado and frieze to correspond.

The styles of carpet mostly used are Brussels, Wilton, tapestry, and Axminster. A tapestry carpet in light canary ground, with clusters of lotus, or begonia leaves, makes a charming background to almost all the colors generally used in upholstery.

In selecting the furniture, the first thought should be given to its true worth. Chairs and couches should be chosen for comfort rather than for style. They should be of solid make, easy, graceful, and of good, serviceable colors and materials. The most serviceable woods to select in frames are ebony, oak, walnut, cherry, and mahogany. These frames are finished in different styles—plain, carved, inlaid, and gilt—and are upholstered in all shades of satin, plush, rep, silk, and damask. These come at prices within the means of a slender purse. That slippery abomination in the shape of haircloth furniture should be avoided. The latest design in parlor furniture is in the Turkish style, the upholstery being made to cover the frame. Rich Oriental colors in woolen and silk brocades are mostly used, and the trimmings are cord and tassels or heavy fringe.

Formerly the parlor appointments were all in sets or pairs, but this fashion is no longer observed, as the most tastefully arranged parlor has now no two pieces of furniture alike; but two easy-chairs placed opposite each other are never out of place. Here may stand an embroidered ottoman, there a quaint little chair, a divan can take some central position; a cottage piano, covered with some embroidered drapery, may stand at one end of the room, while an ebony or mahogany cabinet, with its panel mirrors and quaint brasses, may be placed at the other end, its racks and shelves affording an elegant display for pretty pieces of bric-a-brac.

Marble-topped center-tables are no longer in use. Tables in inlaid woods, or hand-painted, are used for placing books or albums on. A small, airy-looking table, elaborately mounted in gilt, may stand near a window or wall. The mantel mirror, with its beveled edges and small racks arranged on each side, looks very effective when decorated with pretty oddities—ferns, grasses, and pieces of old china. A jardinière filled with living plants and placed near a bay window makes an elegant ornament. Care should be taken in arranging that the room be not over-crowded. There should be a few good pictures or painted plaques mounted in plush hung on the walls; a portrait may be placed on a common easel and draped with a scarf in old gold or peacock-blue, and tiny lambrequins, painted or embroidered, may hang beneath a bracket supporting a bust or flower-vase.

An embroidered scarf with fringed ends may be placed on the back of a chair or sofa in place of the old lace tidy. A sack made of small pieces of bright-colored plush or silk in crazy work may be flung across the table, the ends drooping very low. The mantelpiece may be covered with a corresponding sash, over which place a small clock as centerpiece and arrange ornaments on each side—statuettes, bannerets, flower-holders, small Japanese fans, pieces of odd china, painted candles in small scenes, may all find a place on the mantel.

Window curtains of heavy fabric, hung from brass or plush mounted poles, may be gracefully draped to the sides, while the inner lace ones should be hung straight and be fastened in the center with some ornament or bow of ribbon corresponding in shade to the general tone of the room. The straight shades next to the glass may correspond in tone to the outside walls or window-facings; but this is a mere matter of taste. White or light-tinted shades, finished in etching or narrow lace, are always in vogue.

The dado shades are the latest innovation in window decoration. These come in all colors, from the lightest to the darkest shades, with dado in tile, arabesque and fresco patterns, finished in lace, fringe, and brasses.

Portières (curtain doors) have superseded folding doors. These should be in shades to contrast with the general blending of the colors in the room. The fabrics mostly used are India goods, but they may be of any material, from expensive tapestries, satins, and plushes, to ten-cent factory cottons. The curtains, if made from striped tapestry and